Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T.

NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022

Employers’ Perceptions of Online University Degrees and

Their Relationship with the Recruitment and Selection
Practices: The Case of Chile

Vito Bobeka, Filip Zychb, Božidarka Jankovićc, Tatjana Horvatd

a
University of Maribor, Faculty of Economics and Business, Razlagova 14-20, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
b
McKinsey & Company, Wrocław, Poland
c
University Educons Belgrade, Faculty of Project Management and Innovation, Belgrade, Serbia
d
University of Primorska, Faculty of Management, Koper, Slovenia
vito.bobek@um.si, zyloski@gmail.com, bozidarka.jankovic@betaconsulting.rs, tatjana.horvat@fm-kp.si

ARTICLE INFO Abstract

Original Scientific Article
Article History:
Received June 2022
Revised August 2022
Accepted August 2022
JEL Classification:
M510, J24, O33
Keywords:
Higher Education
Online University Degrees
Recruitment
Chile
UDK: 378:004.738.5(83)
DOI: 10.2478/ngoe-2022-0016
Cite this article as: Bobek, V., Zych,
F., Janković, B., & Horvat, T. (2022).
Employers’ perceptions of online
university degrees and their relationship
with the recruitment and selection
practices: The Case of Chile. Naše
Gospodarstvo/Our Economy, 68(3), 28-49.
DOI: 10.2478/ngoe-2022-0016.
©2022 The Authors. Published by
Sciendo on behalf of University of
Maribor, Faculty of Economics and
Business, Slovenia. This is an open access
article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-nc-nd/4.0/).
The emergence of online university degree programs is an opportunity for
Chile, struggling with low tertiary education attainment rates and a skills gap
in the labor market. However, little attention has been dedicated to whether
the employers in Chile perceive online and on-campus university education
as equivalent. This study investigated the perceptions of a convenient sample
of 38 employers from different industries, using Likert scale questions and
a hypothetical hiring scenario. The survey results were then consulted with
three experts who provided their interpretations. The findings indicated that
the investigated sample generally does not perceive online and on-campus
university education as equivalent but would not discard an online degree
graduate only due to their academic background. However, when given a
choice between a 100% online, 100% on-campus, and a hybrid degree holder,
none of them would choose a 100% online degree graduate. Instead, 57%
would hire a hybrid degree graduate and 43% a 100% on-campus graduate.
There is a significant, positive correlation between the perceived equivalence
in rigor, learning experience, and learning content and the willingness
to hire an online degree graduate. The university’s reputation is a crucial
factor influencing hiring decisions in Chile. The degree’s relevance may be
insignificant compared to other factors considered by the hiring managers.
Introduction
The following research is built around employers’ perceptions of online
university degrees and the impact these perceptions have on their hiring
practices. The first part of this research reviews current literature on employers’
perceptions, online degrees, and hiring practices in Chile. The second part is an
empirical study conducted to obtain primary data and explore the topic in the
Chilean market context.
The data analyzed in this research have been collected through a survey during
the peak of the pandemic and lockdown in Chile in June and July 2020. Moreover,
before the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, Chile had been experiencing a similar-
to-lockdown situation caused by the general social unrest and resulting

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Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T.
violence and state of emergency. These two occurrences
had familiarized the Chilean society with distance working,
teaching, and learning and the use of technologies enabling
them to function under extraordinary circumstances. On
the one hand, this context may have influenced the results
of the research in a significant way; on the other, it has
contributed significantly to the topic’s relevance.
According to a study conducted by Navitas Ventures (2017,
4), about 50% of university leaders and 55% of the students
expect the traditional university model to be disrupted by
2025. Global Center for Digital Business Transformation
ranked Education in the 7th position of all industries
regarding the potential for digital disruption (Fundacion
Orange 2016, 6).
While these developments bring about some enormous
benefits for the communities, including more accessible
and cheaper access to education, and thus a contribution
to creating a more inclusive society (IDC 2016, 6), there are
still many controversies around them, especially concerning
the supposedly lower quality of the content, lack of student-
teacher and student-student interaction or one-size-fits-all
approach used by the online education providers (The
Department of Philosophy, San Jose State University 2013,
2). The perceptions of academics and students have been
heavily investigated in that area.
Despite these drawbacks, emerging markets are expected
to influence the global growth of the eLearning market.
Considering a population of more than 600 million people
and a generally low-performing system with significant
issues in accessibility and inclusiveness, Latin America is
a promising opportunity for ed-tech players (Docebo 2016,
42). Nevertheless, in Latin America, there are very few fully
online universities. In most of the countries in the region,
this is caused by the traditionally restrictive policies that
have only recently become relatively loosened (Rama 2014,
37). The expansion of the virtual educational mode could
be observed in Latin America in recent years, despite the
resistance caused by the prevailing views on the educational
dynamics (Rama 2014, 33).
Still, the region is internationally recognized for its
economic and social inequalities. The social crisis that
started in Chile in November 2019 is proof that the
country has not escaped these problems. Since the 60s of
the twentieth century, education has been the main driver
for reducing these differences (IDC 2016, 4). Since then,
regional, national and local strategies have been developed
to increase the population's access to educational training
at all levels. More than half a century from this, the need for
the educational offer - especially at a higher level - remains
NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022
wide since, on average, 85% of young Latin Americans do
not have this level of preparation, and where universities
face significant challenges in growing their infrastructure
and student population, as well as the reduction of
their budgets (IDC 2016, 4). In this context, information
technologies are critical tools to help the education sector
solve some regional challenges. However, most universities
have been excluded from technological integration and its
benefits (IDC 2016, 4).
With the described background in view and framed by this
context, this research attempts to explore online education
from an angle that has often been omitted. The necessary
assumption that grants relevance to the investigated
questions is that, at least partially, a degree’s value is
determined by the employers’ decisions on the labor market.
This is an oversimplification, but, as demonstrated by some
recent studies, for many students, a university degree is
a way of enhancing their careers (Gallagher 2018, 4). For
that to happen, however, the degree must be recognized
by the employer, and its value reflected in the paycheck or
responsibility placed on a graduate.
Separately, each element of this research topic has been
thoroughly investigated in recent years. However, this
particular combination of concepts has not yet been
explored enough. Without a doubt, there is a substantial
lack of research that aims to study the perceptions of online
degrees as a credible credential among people making
hiring decisions and the impact of these perceptions on
their recruiting practices in Chile in the context of the
global pandemic. Several scientific papers cited it as a
recommendation for further research and indicated Latin
America as a relatively poorly explored region in this
context. The following research questions are, therefore, the
focus of this paper:
1. How do employers in Chile perceive online university
degrees and online degree graduates?
2. How do the Chilean employers’ perceptions of online
university degrees correlate with their willingness to
hire an online university graduate?
According to positivist technological determinism theory
which established a theoretical framework for analyzing
the connection between online education and labor
market prospects (Bahir 2014, 18) technology widens and
facilitates access to education and consequently enables
a rise on the social ladder. However, some more recent
studies contradicted this theory by finding out that there
is a substantial bias against online degree graduates when
compared to the on-campus degree holders and suggesting
that, among the employers, the general attitudes toward
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Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T.
online degrees are distrustful and somewhat antagonistic
(Fogle & Elliott 2013, 24; Erden & Tekarslan 2014, 37; The
Chronicle of Higher Education 2012, 13-14).
The lack of any scientific findings regarding this topic
in Chile or Latin America is the reason for this study's
explorative and descriptive nature. The available literature
exploring the topic in the chosen context is insufficient to
formulate viable hypotheses. The research questions have
been based on similar studies in different contexts (Platt
et al., 2014; Bahir, 2014; Erden & Tekarslan, 2014; Fogle &
Elliott, 2013), and the hypotheses are developed as a result
of this study.
The data collection method is a survey. Respondents
are managers, executives, and professionals with hiring
responsibilities working in Chile, and they have been
reached through convenience sampling. The questionnaire
for this research has been developed based on other similar
studies (Platt, Raile, & Yu 2014, 494; Fogle & Elliott 2013,
4-5) and literature (Ertl et al. 2008, 69; Nehari & Bender1
978, 1; Velasco 2012, 13; Columbaro & Monaghan 2008,
4-5) suggesting the relevance of exploring certain specific
matters related with the topic. Apart from descriptive
statistics, comparison of means, paired t-tests, and
correlation analysis are used to analyze and present the
results.
Furthermore, expert interviews were conducted with
three experts in HR management, digitalization in higher
education, and innovation management who provided their
interpretation of the survey results. In summary, descriptive
statistics, correlation analysis, and expert interviews are
combined to develop hypotheses that may serve as a basis
for future research.
Empirical Analysis
Methodological framework
This is mixed-method exploratory research. To investigate
the research questions, a survey is applied to a convenient
sample of 38 employers representing different industries
from Chile. Furthermore, survey results are consulted in three
in-depth interviews with three other experts in the areas
of HR management, academic research on digitalization in
higher education, and innovation management to interpret
the findings. Using expertise in their specialties and
in-depth knowledge of the Chilean context, the interviewees
provided their interpretation of the results. The overall
methodological framework of this study is illustrated in
30
NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022
Figure 1. Since there is not much available research, and
more importantly, no research investigating this topic in the
Chilean context, the study takes an exploratory form. The
outcome of this study is the development of hypotheses
that may serve as the basis for further research. To explore
research question 1, descriptive statistics is used. For each
Likert question, the median, the mean, 95% confidence
interval, standard deviation and standard error is calculated.
Furthermore, a histogram presents the exact distribution
of responses visually. This, together with the standard
deviation, gives additional insights into whether the
mean and median result from very heterogenous views
represent both extremes or homogenous responses, which
would mean that all the respondents have very similar
perceptions. Descriptive statistics indicators are provided
for both independent and dependent variables.
The underlying assumption for the research question 2 is
that there is a relationship between university degrees and
labor market benefits. Following this logic, if the Chilean
employers value traditional university degrees and are
willing to hire university graduates, then they would also
be willing to hire an online university graduate, as long as
they perceive an online university degree to be generally
equivalent to the traditional one.
Figure 1
Methodological framework
RQ2: How does the Chilean
RQ1: How do employers in employers’ perceptions of online
Chile perceive online university university degrees and online
degrees and online degree degree graduates correlate with
graduates? their willingness to hire an online
university graduate?
Survey
Descriptive statistics Correlation analysis
Expert interviews
Hypotheses
Source: Own research
Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022

To explore this question a correlation analysis is performed.
It is done by conducting Spearman correlation test to
calculate the correlation coefficient and a paired t-test to
compute the p-value and thus validate the significance
of the results. As illustrated, the analysis explores the
relationship between the independent variables reflecting
the respondents’ attitudes towards online degrees and the
dependent variables reflecting the respondents’ impartiality
in hiring considerations between an applicant with an online
and a traditional degree, and the degree of the eventual
willingness to hire a candidate with an online degree.
All calculations and graphs have been computed using
Microsoft Excel, R programming language, and R Studio as
an integrated development environment.
adopts a part of the questionnaire used by Fogle & Elliott
(2013), which is relevant for answering them, excluding the
parts aimed at answering other research questions that
are not so relevant for the topic of this research. Although
the questionnaire design has in some ways been inspired
by this study, each question has found its validation in
the scientific literature on the topic. Table 1 shows the
theoretical support for the use of each question exploring
the attitude of the respondents.
The main independent variable measured by the survey is
the respondents’ attitude towards online education and the
main dependent variable is the respondents’ willingness
to hire. Table 2 lists the variables in the survey used for
analysis and their level of measure.

Questionnaire design Attitude measuring questions are formulated as statements

Due to the high degree of similitude in research purpose
and design of this study to the study conducted by Fogle
& Elliott (2013) in the US, the data analysis methods here
are based on the ones used in the mentioned study. As this
research is limited to only two research questions, it only
and each attitude is measured by the respondent’s degree
of agreement with these statements. The respondents
should choose the attitude towards the statement which
corresponds with his or her perceptions. For that purpose, a
Likert scale is provided, with the following labels assigned
to each value.

Table 1
Questionnaire design and rationale
Question Rationale
Studies measuring students’ perceptions of online degrees used the
perceived equivalence in rigor as one of the independent variables, having
Q1. I believe online and traditional universities’ impact on the perceived value of a degree (Platt et al., 2014)
degrees are equal in rigor. Content analysis in the study conducted by (Adams 2008, 582) pointed out
at academic rigor as one of the crucial factors for acceptability of online
courses and degrees.

Q2. I would consider a degree from online
and traditional universities the same in hiring
decisions.
The question tries to determine the existence and the degree of any bias
towards a candidate with an online degree on the application sorting
stage of the selection process. Question adapted from: (Fogle & Elliott
2013, 5)

This straightforward question measures the respondent’s attitude towards

Q3. I would hire someone with an online degree
hiring an online degree graduate. Question adapted from: (Fogle & Elliott
for a position.
2013, 5)

Q4. In my perception, graduates with online

Career success of graduates is used as a key indicator to measure the
degrees have been mostly unsuccessful in my
quality of higher education (Teichler, 2009)
industry.

Studies measuring students’ perceptions of online degrees used the

Q5. In my perception, online and traditional
courses offer the same flexibility in terms of time.
perceived flexibility as one of the independent variables. (Platt et al. 2014,
494). Furthermore, as some employers link the student’s effort connected
with commuting to and spending time on physical campus to their com-
mitment (Columbaro & Monaghan, 2008), it is interesting to see whether
a perceived difference in the degree of flexibility in terms of time between
online and traditional courses has any relation with the respondent’s
willingness to hire an online graduate.

Similar studies measured the perceived gain of knowledge and compared

Q6. In my perception, online and traditional
online and face-to-face courses in this regard to determine the general
courses deliver the same content.
equivalence of online and face-to-face classes (Platt et al. 2014, 494)

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Table 1
Questionnaire design and rationale (cont.)

Question
Q7. In my perception, online and traditional
courses offer the same learning experience.
Rationale
As the humanistic education theory suggests, learning experience is a valid
measure of learning outcomes (Nehari & Bender 1978, 1). Quality assur-
ance agencies and policymakers identify student learning experience as a
top priority, and the literature suggests that student learning experience is
a measure of quality in higher education (Ertl et al. 2008, 69).
Content analysis in the study conducted by (Adams 2008, 582) pointed out
educational experiences as one of the crucial factors for the acceptability
of online courses and degrees.

Literature suggests that some employers use academic qualifications as

Q8. The type of college or university (online
versus on-campus) from which the applicant
obtained his or her degree would be of no impor-
tance as a hiring criterion in our organization.
one of their hiring criteria (Velasco 2012, 13), (Kisanga, 2020). It is inter-
esting to see whether the same applies to this survey's respondents as
it might have implications for the RQ 2. If the respondent’s organization
does not use academic qualifications as a hiring criterion, the respondent’s
perceptions of online degrees may have no impact on his or her hiring
decisions.

This hypothetical question tries to establish a preference based solely on

Q9. (Hypothetical question) In your perception the source of their university degree CET PAR between different hypothet-
which candidate would you hire? ical candidates. Similar question was used by (Kisanga 2020, 8), (Fogle &
Elliott 2013, 5),

Table 2
Variables and their level of measurement
Type of Level of
Variable Scale
variable measure
Industry Independent Nominal -

Respondent’s position in the organization Independent Nominal -

Q1. I believe online and traditional universities’ degrees are

equal in rigor. Independent Ordinal Likert scale 1-7
Label used for the variable: Perceived equivalence in rigor.

Q2. I would consider a degree from online and traditional

universities the same in hiring decisions.
Dependent Ordinal Likert scale 1-7
Label used for the variable: Lack of bias in hiring
considerations.

Q3. I would hire someone with an online degree for a

position.
Dependent Ordinal Likert scale 1-7
Label used for the variable: Willingness to hire an online
graduate.

Q4. In my perception, graduates with online degrees have

been mostly unsuccessful in my industry.
Independent Ordinal Likert scale 1-7
Label used for the variable: Perceived career failure of online
graduates.

Q5. In my perception, online and traditional courses offer the

same flexibility in terms of time.
Independent Ordinal Likert scale 1-7
Label used for the variable: Perceived equivalence in terms
of flexibility.

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Table 2
Variables and their level of measurement (cont.)

Type of Level of
Variable Scale
variable measure
Q6. In my perception, online and traditional courses deliver
the same content. Label used for the variable: Perceived Independent Ordinal Likert scale 1-7
equivalence in terms of content.

Q7. In my perception, online and traditional courses offer

the same learning experience. Label used for the variable: Independent Ordinal Likert scale 1-7
Perceived equivalence in terms of learning experience.

Q8. The type of university (online versus on-campus) from

which the applicant obtained his or her degree would be of
Independent Ordinal Likert scale 1-7
no importance as a hiring criterion in our organization. Label
used for the variable: Type of degree as a hiring criterion.

Multiple choice among

Q9. (Hypothetical question) In your perception which candi- On-campus, Online, and
Dependent Nominal
date would you hire? Hybrid of both on-campus
and online

Table 3
Likert scale and values
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Completely Strongly Neither agree Completely
Rather disagree Rather agree Strongly agree
disagree disagree nor disagree agree

In case of the hypothetical question, its purpose is to divide
the respondents into 3 groups based on their response, to
further explore the relationship between their responses
to each of the independent variable questions and their
preference for one hypothetical job candidate over the
others. Due to the relatively small sample of survey
respondents, it is more valid to use nonparametric statistics
for comparisons. Therefore, for every Likert question, the
population median is calculated. The value of a median
is, by definition, equal or lower than the values of at least
half of the population, and consequently, less than half
of the population has a higher value. Additionally, a 95
percent confidence interval is provided, meaning that
the probability that 95% confidence interval contains the
population median is 95% (Fogle & Elliott 2013, 5). For
each Likert question a following table is provided, together
with a verbal presentation of the results.
A boxplot graph with 95% CI, containing the same data is
presented for better visualization of the average perceptions
of each variable and the spread of the answers. Since both
median and mean are measures that tend to generalize
and sometimes reflect a distorted version of reality, density
graphs illustrating the spread of the answers to the Likert-
scale questions are also presented. The purpose of this
visualization is to find out whether the respondents tend
to have similar views or whether they are rather divided in
their perceptions.
To analyze the results of the hypothetical question and their
relationship with the respondents’ perceptions of online
degrees, the means of responses to the attitude-measuring
questions between the 3 groups are compared. However,
since none of the respondents declared a preference for a
candidate with the 100% online degree, the means of only
two groups must be compared – those who would chose
a candidate with a hybrid education degree and those
who would prefer an applicant with a 100% on-campus
education.
The second research question examines the relationship
between the respondents' perceptions on different aspects
of online higher education and their decision on hiring a
candidate with an online university degree. To quantify the
strength of these relationships, the Spearman correlation
test is performed, and for better visualization of the results,

33
Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022

a series of scatterplots, illustrating the relationship between
the dependent and each of the independent variables is
generated. To test these results' statistical significance, a
paired t-test is performed, and a p-value computed. The
power of these correlations is tested assuming a significance
level of 99%, the sample size of 38 and the respective
Spearman correlation coefficient.
Expert interviews
Three experts have been chosen and contacted based
on their area of specialty. As this study involves a
problem that combines 3 fields of expertise: Human
Resources Management, Higher Education and the digital
transformation, the chosen experts represent each of these
fields.
The interview protocol was developed based on the
questionnaire results. The relevant findings have been
shown to the interviewees on handouts sent beforehand per
e-mail together with the interview protocol. The handouts
used both numerical and graphical representations of the
relevant survey results for the interview. The same interview
protocol and handout were used across all three interviews
to ensure consistency among the interviews. The interview
questions are listed in the table below.

Table 4
Expert Interview Protocol
Nr. Question Sub-question(-s)
1. In which industry are you professionally active?

2. What position do you currently hold in your company?

When asked about their perception of the rigor of

According to your experience, what do you think could by
online and traditional universities’ degrees, 18 out of 39
the reasons for these differences?
respondents were inclined to perceive both degrees as
3. equal in terms of rigor, 4 respondents perceived them as
unequal and 4 did not declare themselves on either side.
Please have a look at your handout to observe the exact How would you interpret these findings?
distribution of answers.

When asked whether they would consider hiring a

According to your experience, what do you think could by
traditional and an online degree graduate the same, 20
the reasons for these differences?
out of 39 respondents would be inclined to do so, 16
4.
would not and 3 did not declare themselves on either
side. Please have a look at your handout to observe the How would you interpret these findings?
exact distribution of answers.

When asked about whether they would hire a candidate According to your experience, what do you think could by
with an online degree or not, 24 respondents would hire, the reasons for these differences?
5. 11 would not hire and 4 did not declare themselves.
Please have a look at your handout to observe the exact
How would you interpret these findings?
distribution of answers.

When confronted with a statement that online degree
graduates are mostly unsuccessful in their industry, 13
out of 39 respondents agreed with it, 10 disagreed and
6.
16 neither agreed nor disagreed. Please have a look
at your handout to observe the exact distribution of
answers.
What do you think could by the reasons for these
differences?
Why, do you think, most of the respondents could neither
agree nor disagree that the online degree graduates are
mostly unsuccessful in their industry?

When asked about their perception of flexibility of online
and traditional courses in terms of time, 6 out of 39
respondents perceive it as the same, 28 perceive it as
7.
different and 5 did not declare themselves on either side.
Please have a look at your handout to observe the exact
distribution of answers.
According to your experience, what do you think could by
the reasons for these differences?
Why do you think the large majority perceive the flexibility
in terms of time of online and traditional courses to be
different?

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Table 4
Expert Interview Protocol (cont.)

Nr. Question Sub-question(-s)

When asked about their perception of content of online According to your experience, what do you think could by
and traditional courses, 22 out of 39 respondents the reasons for these differences?
perceive it as the same, 12 perceive it as different and 5
8.
did not declare themselves on either side. Please have a
Why do you think a large majority perceive the content of
look at your handout to observe the exact distribution of
online and traditional courses to be the same?
answers.

When asked about their perception of the learning
experience in online and traditional courses, 14 out of 39
respondents perceive it as the same experience, and 25
9.
perceive it as a different learning experience. Please have
a look at your handout to observe the exact distribution
of answers.
According to your experience, what do you think could by
the reasons for these differences?
Why do you think a large majority perceive the learning
experience in online and traditional courses to be
different?

When confronted with a statement that the type of

According to your experience, what do you think could by
university (online versus on-campus) from which an
the reasons for these differences?
applicant obtained his or her degree would be of no
10. importance as a hiring criterion in their organizations, 15
out of 39 respondents agreed, 20 disagreed and 4 neither
agreed nor disagreed. Please have a look at your handout How would you interpret these findings?
to observe the exact distribution of answers.

In a hypothetical hiring scenario, when asked to choose

between a candidate with a 100% traditional degree, a According to your experience, what do you think could by
candidate with a degree obtained online and a candidate the reasons for these differences?
with a hybrid degree (on-campus and online), 43% chose
11.
a candidate with a 100% traditional degree and 57% a
candidate with a hybrid degree (on-campus and online).
How would you interpret these findings?
None of our respondents chose a candidate with a
degree obtained 100% online.

According to the results of the survey, traditional and

online degrees are perceived as more equivalent in
terms of rigor and of learning experience among those
12. How would you interpret these findings?
respondents who prefer hybrid degree graduates as
compared to those who would choose a traditional
degree holder.

Source: Own research

Results and Discussion
Descriptive statistics
Due to the difficulty in obtaining survey responses, this
research has limited the questions to only those that
are most relevant. Therefore, the descriptive statistics
of the respondents is limited to their industry and role
in the organization as these two factors are predicted to
be influential when assessing candidates with university
degrees and making hiring decisions. Most of the respondents
have non-managerial roles, however, they participate in
hiring decisions and have impact on the final recruitment
and selection process outcome. Professionals belonging
to this category co-design vacancy offers, establishing
the minimum requirements and recruitment criteria, thus
influencing the HR estimation of whether a candidate is a
good fit. Another, relatively large part of the respondents
(38%) are employees with supervisory or managerial
responsibilities. As such, they have the final saying in hiring
decisions, and since they envision the company’s strategic

35
Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T.
direction, it is ther responsibility to approve and start the
recruitment processes, establishing the organizaton’s needs
for human resources and predifining the profile of and ideal
fit for each position.
Second important insight about the group of survey
respondents is the industries they represent. Figure 2 shows
the number of respondents who are employed in companies
operating in each of the illustrated industries.
As it can be observed, most of the industries have at least
one representative. The proportions are also similar to
the number of employees per sector in Chile, especially
maintaining a focus on industries that tend to demand
university graduates. Even though the distribution
of the respondents is similar to the distribution of
employees among different sectors in Chile, the share of
people working in professional and scientific services,
information and communication or finance and insurance is
disproportionately higher.
The boxplot illustrates the overall attitudes towards
different aspects of online degrees, online degree graduates,
and towards hiring an online degree graduate.
Figure 2
Distribution of respondents by industry
Source: Own research.
Each box illustrates the range of responses to each of the
attitude-measuring questions on 1-7 Likert scale where
1 means that the respondent strongly disagrees with the
statement and 7 means he or she strongly agrees with it.
As it is an ordinal scale each response is a whole number
and therefore the median represented on the plot as a
bold line inside of a box is always a whole number. The
plot illustrates that the spread of the responses for each
question is rather big. The position of these boxes and the
position of median should provide a general idea into what
the collective attitudes towards the introduced concepts
were. The purpose of this plot is to show a general overview
of the results. In the following sections, each variable is
presented separately with the use of measures that may
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NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022
offer a deeper insight into their meaning.
Figure 3
Boxplot of responses to the attitude-measuring questions
Source: Own research
Question number one explores the respondent’s perception
of equivalence in rigor between an online and a face-to-
face university degree.
Table 5
Descriptive statistics indicators for perceived equivalence in
rigor
Lower Limit of 95% Upper Limit of 95%
Mean: 4.027 Confidence Interval: Confidence Interval:
3.436 4.618
Standard Deviation:
Median: 4 Standard Error: 0.301
1.833
Source: Own research
The median of responses is 4, the standard deviation,
meaning the average difference between the average and
the actual responses is 1.83. On the histogram it is possible to
see that the respondents’ responses towards this statement
are divided. Many of the respondents have positioned
themselves closer to the right side of the plot, by declaring
that they agree or strongly agree with the statement.
Another large group strongly disagreed with the statement
that the degree of rigor in both types of the universities is
equal. The answer chosen by the most significant number of
the respondents was “Strongly disagree”.
The median of responses is 2, the standard deviation 1.71.
The histogram shows that, there have been more individuals
declaring that they strongly or even completely disagree
with the statement than those who agreed with it.
Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022

Figure 4 Table 7
Distribution of responses to the question measuring the Descriptive statistics indicators for perceived equivalence in
perceived equivalence in rigor of online and traditional learning content
universities Lower Limit of 95% Upper limit of 95%
Mean: 4.432 Confidence Interval: Confidence Interval:
3.882 4.983
Standard Deviation: Standard Error:
Median: 5
1.708 0.281

Source: Own research

Figure 6
Distribution of responses to the question measuring the
Source: Own research perceived equivalence in terms of content between online and
traditional courses
Table 6
Descriptive statistics indicators for perceived equivalence in
flexibility in terms of time
Lower Limit wof 95% Upper Limit of 95%
Mean: 4.027 Confidence Interval: Confidence Interval:
3.436 4.618
Standard Deviation:
Median: 4 Standard Error: 0.301
1.833

Source: Own research

Source: Own research

The median response to that statement is 5 and the Table 8

standard deviation 1.70. On the histogram we can see that Descriptive statistics indicators for perceived equivalence in
the responses are distributed across the whole scale but learning experience
most of them are concentrated on the right side of the plot
Lower Limit of 95% Upper Limit of 95%
and “Strongly agree” is the most popular response.
Mean: 3.405 Confidence Interval: Confidence Interval:
2.825 3.986
Figure 5
Distribution of responses to the question measuring the Standard Deviation: Standard Error:
Median: 3
perceived equivalence in terms of flexibility between online 1.802 0.296
and traditional courses
Source: Own research

The median of the responses is 3 and the standard deviation

from the mean 1.8. The histogram shows that the responses
are unevenly distributed with most of them concentrated
on the left side and with “Strongly disagree” being the most
popular answer.

Source: Own research

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Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022

Figure 7 With a considerable knowledge of the respondents’

Distribution of responses to the question measuring the
perceived equivalence in terms of learning experience between
online and traditional courses
perception towards online degrees and online degree
graduates, in this subsection, the attitudes towards
hiring online graduates. The variables analyzed in this
part are defined as dependent variables. The purpose
of the following question is to establish whether in the
organizations represented by the respondents, there are
any official guidelines referring to the type of degree as a
hiring criterion.

Table 10
Descriptive statistics indicators for a type of degree as a
hiring criterion
Lower Limit of 95% Upper Limit of 95%
Mean: 3.946 Confidence Interval: Confidence Interval:
3.315 4.577
Source: Own research Standard Deviation: Standard Error:
Median: 3
1.957 0.322
Table 9
Source: Own research
Descriptive statistics indicators for perceived career failure of
online graduates
Lower Limit of 95% Upper Limit of 95% Figure 9
Mean: 4.243 Confidence Interval: Confidence Interval: Distribution of responses to the question measuring the
3.818 4.669 degree to which a type of degree is a hiring criterion in the
respondent’s organizations
Standard Deviation:
Median: 4 Standard Error: 0.217
1.321

Source: Own research

The median of the responses to this question is 4 with a

standard deviation of 1.3. The histogram shows that by
far the most often chosen answer was “Neither agree nor
disagree”.

Figure 8 Source: Own research

Distribution of responses to the question measuring the
perceived lack of success of online degree graduates in The following variable measures whether the respondent
respondent’s industry manifests bias towards any type of university degree on the
sorting stage of the selection process.

Table 11
Descriptive statistics indicators measuring the equivalence
in hiring considerations between a traditional and online
graduate
Lower Limit of 95% Upper Limit of 95%
Mean: 4.162 Confidence Interval: Confidence Interval:
3.543 4.782
Standard Deviation:
Median: 5 Standard Error: 0.316
1.922

Source: Own research. Source: Own research

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Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022

The density plot shows that, while the most significant The histogram demonstrates that the response which was
number of the responses are strongly agree – 8 respondents, chosen by the most significant number of the respondents
there is another large group who responded rather disagree was “Rather agree” – 11 respondents. “Totally agree” comes
– 7 respondents. in second with 8 respondents selecting this answer.

Figure 10 There was a multiple-choice question, inquiring the

Distribution of responses to the question measuring the
equivalence in hiring considerations of an online and traditional
degree holder
respondents about which candidate they would select
based on the type of his/her degree and assuming that all
other variables are excluded. The respondents were given a
choice between a candidate with a degree obtained 100%
online, a hybrid degree graduate and a candidate with a
100% traditionally obtained degree. 21 respondents would
choose a candidate with a hybrid degree and 17 respondents
would choose a candidate with a 100% traditional degree.
None of the respondents selected a candidate with a degree
obtained 100% online.

Figure 12
Clustered histogram comparing the means of perceptions
Source: Own research question between the respondents who prefer a hybrid and
those who would prefer a 100% on-campus degree holder
The table displays the respondents’ answers to the question
regarding the consideration given to the applicants with
online versus traditional degree. The median of answers is
5, and the standard deviation 1.77.

Table 12
Descriptive statistics indicators measuring the willingness to
hire an online graduate
Lower Limit of 95% Upper Limit of 95%
Mean: 4.622 Confidence Interval: Confidence Interval:
4.051 5.192
Standard Deviation: Standard Error:
Median: 5 Source: Own research
1.769 0.291

Source: Own research This is an analysis of a dependent variable and therefore it is

Figure 11
Distribution of responses to the question measuring the
willingness to hire an online graduate
interesting to explore its relationship with the independent
variables to see whether the respondent’s preference
is in any way related to his or her perceptions of the 4
aspects of online degrees and online degree graduates. A
simple comparison of means is performed to compare the
differences in perceptions between the respondents who
declared preference for hiring a candidate with a 100% on-
campus degree and those who would prefer a hybrid-degree
graduate. Additionally, to test the validity of each of these
comparisons a t-test for each comparison is conducted.

As this clustered column plot shows, there are some

significant differences in the means of responses between
the respondents who declared preference of hybrid over an
on-campus degree graduate and those who would prefer
Source: Own research hiring a 100% on-campus degree graduate.

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Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022

Table 13
Comparison of means of perceptions between the respondents who prefer a hybrid and those who would prefer a 100% on-campus
degree holder
Hybrid 100% on-campus p-value
Average of perceived equivalence in learning experience 4 2.41 0.004

Average of perceived equivalence in learning content 4.45 4.06 0.49

Average of perceived equivalence in flexibility 3.09 2.53 0.29

Average of perceived career failure of an online graduate 4.09 4.29 0.62

Average of perceived equivalence in rigor 4.59 3.12 0.01

Source: Own research

Table 14
Correlations between the independent variables and the willingness to hire
Variable Median Spearman correlation coefficient with willingness to hire
Perception of equivalence in rigor 4 0.58***

Perception of equivalence in consideration 5 0.76***

Perception of equivalence in learning experience 3 0.54***

Perception of the equivalence in content 5 0.39***

Perception of career failure of online graduates 4 0.18**

Perception of flexibility in terms of time 2 0.025*

*** p-value less than 1%, ** p-value less than 15%, * p-value more than 50%
Source: Own research.

The p-value was lower that 5% only in case of the compared
means of the Perceived equivalence in learning experience
and the Perceived equivalence in rigor. Also, the comparison
of mean values shows the biggest difference in case of
these two variables.
Correlation analysis - the relationship between willing-
ness to hire and attitudes towards online degrees
The main purpose of this section is exploring the second
research question: How do the employer’s perceptions of
online degrees and online degree graduates relate with
their willingness to hire an online degree graduate? The best
approach for exploring this relationship is the correlation
analysis. The analysis of the respondents’ perceptions has
already been provided in the previous section. Also, some
insights into the relationship between these attitudes
and the preference for one hypothetical candidate over
the other with the source of his or her degree being the
unique changed variable. Now, the goal is to investigate
whether these variables are related to the dependent
variables: willingness to hire and equivalence in hiring
considerations. Moreover, the relationship between the two
dependent variables is also investigated. Table 14 shows
the median and Spearman correlation coefficient value with
the dependent variable willingness to hire. Also, the paired
t-test has been conducted for each of the correlations to test
the significance of the results. The p-values are divided into
three categories: less than 1%, less than 15% and less than
50%. Only the correlations belonging to the first category
and marked with three stars are statistically significant.
The highest correlation coefficient has been found between
the two dependent variables.
The other two variables with a relatively strong correlation
coefficient with willingness to hire are the perceived
equivalence in rigor and the perceived equivalence in
learning experience. The perceived career failure of online
graduates or flexibility in terms of time have been found not
related to the dependent variables.

40
Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022

Only the significant correlations will be investigated in a Figure 14

deeper way. Table 15 displays the same values as table but Scatterplot illustrating the relationship between the perceived
for a different dependent variable: equivalence in hiring equivalence of learning content and the willingness to hire an
considerations. online graduate

The strength of this relationship is better visible on the

scatterplot.

Figure 13
Scatterplot illustrating the relationship between the
equivalence in hiring considerations and the willingness to
hire an online graduate

Source: Own research

Figure 15
Scatterplot illustrating the relationship between the perceived
equivalence in learning experience and the willingness to hire
an online graduate

Source: Own research

The strength of this correlation implies that those

respondents who would equally consider hiring a candidate
with an online degree as a traditional one would be more
willing to eventually hire an online graduate. The power
of this correlation, given the number of responses and
the required significance of 0.99 is 0.99, demonstrating
that, apart from being rather strong, it is also statistically
significant and powerful. Therefore, it is not necessary to
analyze the individual independent variable relationship
with each dependent variable separately. Instead, the
analysis is conducted between each relevant variable and
the dependent variable Willingness to hire, since the same
analysis is also valid for the relationship with the variable
Equivalence in hiring considerations. The Spearman
correlation coefficient between the perceived equivalence Source: Own research
in content and the willingness to hire is 0.36 and is plotted
below. The spearman correlation coefficient of the Perceived
equivalence in learning experience between online
In fact, this aspect of the degree programs has a weaker and traditional courses with Willingness to hire is 0.54,
relationship with the dependent variable than the indicating that respondents’ answers to these 2 questions
perceived equivalence in learning experience or in rigor. were similar. The correlation coefficient has been calculated
The mentioned relationships are illustrated below, and the using R’s correlation test function and the resulting p-value
linear relationship is visibly more significant in both cases. was significantly lower than 1 percent. Additionally, a

41
Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022

paired sample t-test has been conducted and the computed
p-value was 0.009, significantly lower than the 95%
significance level, suggesting the statistical significance
of the result. Th t value was equal to -2.74 and the 95%
confidence interval was between -1.29 and -0.19. The power
test for this correlation indicated that given the number of
responses and requiring the significance level to be at 99%,
the power is estimated at 99%. The implication is that those
respondents who perceive the students to have similar
learning experience when studying online and on-campus,
tend to be more willing to hire an online graduate.
A similar relationship was found between the Perceived
equivalence in rigor and Willingness to hire. In this case
the Spearman correlation coefficient is 0.58 indicating a
very significant relationship between the two variables.
This implies that the respondents who perceive the rigor
in online degree programs to be similar to the rigor of the
on-campus degree programs are also more willing to hire
an applicant with an online degree.

Table 15
Correlations between each of the independent variables and the equivalence in hiring considerations
Variable Median Correlation coefficient with equivalence in hiring considerations
Perception of equivalence in rigor 4 0.50***

Willingness to hire 5 0.76***

Perception of equivalence in learning experience 3 0.54***

Perception of the equivalence in content 5 0.36**

Perception of career failure of online graduates 4 0.20*

Perception of flexibility in terms of time 2 0.10*

*** p-value less than 1%, ** p-value less than 15%, * p-value more than 50%
Source: Own research

Figure 16 In-depth expert interviews

Scatterplot illustrating the relationship between the perceived
equivalence in rigor and the willingness to hire an online
graduate
Expert 1 is a Human Resources Management leader in a
global technology company. At the time of the interview, he
is specifically responsible for Global Learning Experience
He has been professionally active in the field of HRM in
Chile for about 8 years. Expert 2 is a Director of a Business
School of Chilean Universities. He has experience managing
and participating in projects innovating Higher Education
in Chile and oversees establishing and managing of face-
to-face, entirely online and blended degree programs.
Expert 3 is professionally active in the field of business
consulting, specifically data science on the position of New
Ventures Managers, he provides consulting regarding digital
transformation and innovation management. The experts
have been shown the exact distribution of the responses to
the survey questions. Here is their feedback.

• The respondents believe online and traditional degrees

do not offer the same standard.
• The name of the university a candidate graduated from
Source: Own research is crucial. The modality of studying is not significant in
these considerations.

42
Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T.
• The number of people graduating from 100% online
degree programs in Chile is insufficient for employers
to have strong perceptions in this regard.
• The gap between the online and face-to-face courses’
content is slowly disappearing.
• Hiring in local companies does not consider the can-
didate’s skills, but rather his/her social position and
networking potential.
• The respondents are very biased in their responses
since they do not have enough experience to objective-
ly compare the high number of online and face-to-face
degree programs.
Research Findings
The technological determinism theory states that technology
serves as an enabling tool for widening access to learning and
consequently facilitates climbing up the social ladder (Bahir
2014, 18). One of the ways the technology widens access
to education is through online university degree programs.
Therefore, the positivist technological determinism theory
supports the conclusion that online degrees provide a way for
an individual to advance within the society.
This conclusion, however, has been contradicted by several
empirical studies on the employers’ perceptions of online
degree graduates and, subsequently the value of their degree
on the labor market (Chaney 2002, 71; Protopsaltis & Baum
2019, 13; Erden & Tekarslan 2014, 37; Roberto & Johnson
2019, 3; Grossman & Johnson 2016, 91; Domanic 2018, 91;
Kisanga 2020, 13). These studies suggest that the traditional
degree holders are preferred in hiring scenarios and therefore
the technology, in this case, is not an enabler for advancement
within the society.
To explore the research question 1 on how Chilean employers
perceive online degrees and online degree graduates, the
literature findings, survey results and their interpretation
by three selected experts should be set against each other.
According to the questionnaire responses, the investigated
sample of employers tends to perceive online degrees as not
equivalent to traditional degrees in most aspects. However, the
fact that most employers declared that they would consider a
job applicant with an online degree and with an on-campus
degree the same, might indicate that they do not acknowledge
any significant difference in terms of value of the respective
degrees. Although the responses to the questions measuring
the equivalence of online and traditional degrees in hiring
considerations and the willingness to hire an online graduate
suggest rather positive attitudes towards hiring online degree
graduates, some literature suggests that the opportunity
NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022
to apply for the most elite positions in some prestigious
organizations is limited only to the graduates of some selected
elite universities as it can only be done through the career
offices of these institutions (Aracena & Cristia 2017, 141).
Consistently with the findings of (Adams & DeFleur 2006,
14-15) , according to Expert 1, the name of the university a
candidate graduated from is perhaps the single most important
factor when it comes to hiring decisions, as the employers
expect expanding valuable networks by employing graduates
from Chile’s top universities. The modality is irrelevant if the
title is issued by one of these institutions. That would suggest
that in order to be hired for a high-responsibility position in
a prestigious organization in Chile, it is necessary to have
graduated from one of these establishments and hence, online
degrees, if not issued by one of them, may prove to be of less
value on the labor market. Also according to Aracena & Cristia
(2017, 141), recruitment process for prestigious graduate
positions is often conducted exclusively via employment
offices of the mentioned universities. Currently, none of
the mentioned institutions offers an entirely online degree
program. This finding, however, leaves the comparison between
an online and a traditional degree, issued by a the same or by
two comparable institutions, unresolved.
Consistently with the findings of (Fogle & Elliott 2013, 24),
according to both Expert 2 and 3’s interpretation of survey
results, online degrees are generally perceived with distrust.
The possible reasons for that include the fact that most
institutions are still on their learning curve when it comes to
developing good-quality online courses. Moreover, the critical
mass of online degree graduates in Chile is very low, so most
employers lack the basis necessary to formulate an informed
opinion, which leaves them even more open to bias.
The insights from expert interviews are consistent with most of
the literature that investigated the topic in different countries.
Combining the literature findings, survey results and expert
interviews, leads to formulating a conclusion that, currently,
an online degree is perceived as less credible in the eyes of
employers in Chile than a traditional degree, even if both were
issued by the same or by two comparable universities.
Research question 2 asks about the relationship between the
above discussed perceptions and the employer’s willingness to
hire an online degree applicant. To explore it, the results of the
correlation analysis should be set together with the expert’s
comments and analyzed. The correlation analysis has shown
that the employers who perceive the rigor, learning experience
and learning content to be equivalent in online and on-campus
university degree programs, tend to be more willing to hire an
online graduate in a hypothetical scenario. Furthermore, they
tend to be more impartial (assuming the type of a degree as
43
Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T.
the only variable) in their hiring considerations and tend to
prefer a hybrid over an 100% on-campus degree holder in
a hiring scenario. According to Expert 2, the employers who
know and appreciate online space, infer that the institutions
that impart online education are prepared to deliver it in
similar quality in both online and face-to-face modalities. This
interpretation is consistent with (Adams & DeFleur 2006, 6)
whose findings also pointed at a general distrust towards
institutions lacking any physical infrastructure. That might be
why 57% of the respondents chose a candidate with a hybrid
degree in the hypothetical scenario while none chose a purely
online degree holder.
The findings of this study suggest that the demand for EdTech
solutions in Chile might grow. Regardless of whether this
demand comes from foreign online universities entering the
Chilean market or from the local higher education institutions
starting to offer more online courses, the creators of digital
educational content may benefit from this development.
With time, a development of an appropriate institutional
infrastructure is to be expected and a constantly growing
demand for EdTech companies’ services and products.
For the existing online universities, regardless of their
geographical origin, these results may point out Chile as a
potentially attractive market for expansion. With an expensive
higher education system, and a considerable acceptance of
online degrees among the employers, there are reasons to
suppose that foreign online universities could find their place
on the Chilean market. However, they should keep in mind that
some cultural and societal factors such as the importance of
networking and strongly hierarchical society might result in
the employers’ preference for the university degrees awarded
by the local, high-ranked and prestigious universities over the
degrees issued by foreign institutions which are unknown to
them.
For the traditional universities, equal recognition of an online
and on-campus degree among employers would mean the
urgent necessity to adapt to new market rules. Enjoying a
relatively exclusive position being one of the few campus-
based higher education providers would no longer position
them in a privileged position compared to the global online
university education providers. Under the assumption that
students value the university degree in the function of the
labor market benefits, it apports, traditional, campus-based
degree programs in Chile would have to rethink their value
proposition to keep attracting new students and be able to
compete against less expensive competitors from abroad who
are perhaps equally good at creating value in the form of the
labor market benefits for their clients – the Chilean students.
On the other hand, the expert interviews suggest that having
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NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022
a brand recognized as one of the top-tier higher education
institutions is an unbeatable value proposition the Chilean
university can offer its students. This would mean that the
most prestigious Chilean universities have no reasons to worry
as the Chilean students and employers will always prefer their
degrees over any foreign credential.
Furthermore, the established Chilean universities enjoy a
reputation built upon decades of delivering higher education
and conducting research. Since this reputation is one of the
most crucial factors determining the value of a degree on
the job market, these institutions could become successful at
imparting online education and awarding their students with
degrees that Chilean employers would highly value.
The findings of this study suggest that the demand for EdTech
solutions in Chile might grow. Regardless of whether this
demand comes from foreign online universities entering the
Chilean market or local higher education institutions starting
to offer more online courses, the creators of digital educational
content may benefit from this development. With time, the
development of an appropriate institutional infrastructure
is expected, with a constantly growing demand for EdTech
companies’ services and products.
Conclusion
This research aimed to explore the status quo of online
university degree perceptions among Chilean employers and
how these perceptions are related with their hiring decisions.
The basic assumption for the relevance of this topic was that,
for many individuals, attaining a university degree is a way for
advancement within the society and for career development.
The review of the literature available on the topic allowed to
develop the following two research questions:
1. How do employers in Chile perceive online university
degrees and online degree graduates?
2. How does the Chilean employers’ perceptions of online
university degrees correlate with their willingness to
hire an online university graduate?
To explore these questions a survey was conducted
exploring the Chilean employer’s perceptions, attitudes and
hypothetical behaviors. The results indicated that, indeed,
Chilean employers do not tend to perceive different aspects
of online degree programs as equivalent to the traditional
degree programs, but they still tend to be willing to hire online
degree holders and do not express any bias against them in
hiring considerations. However, with the type of degree being
the only variable, they tend to prefer other types of applicants
Bobek, V., Zych, F., Janković, B., Horvat, T. NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY 68 (3) 2022

than those with a 100% online degree. The most preferred
type of degree is a university degree attained through hybrid
education, combining online distance with the traditional
campus-based learning modalities.
Regarding the second question, it was also confirmed that
the perceptions on equivalence of different aspects of online
and traditional degree programs are positively correlated
with the willingness to hire and impartiality in hiring
considerations between an online and on-campus university
graduate. However, experts suggested that this correlation
does not imply that employer’s perceptions of online degrees
have any impact on their hiring decisions, as these are mostly
influenced by the name of the university the applicant has
graduated from and have little to do with the modality in
which he or she studied.
The combination of a literature review, a quantitative survey
and three expert interviews led to the development of the
following hypotheses:
1. Online degrees are a less valuable credential on the
Chilean job market, because online degree programs
are currently not offered by the most reputable univer-
sities in Chile.
2. When compared to traditional degrees, online degrees
are perceived as less credible in the eyes of employers
in Chile even if both were issued by the same or by two
comparable universities.
3. If awarded by high-ranked Chilean universities, hybrid
degrees are the most valued type of degrees by the
employers in Chile.
Finally, the implications of these findings for online degree
students, Chilean employers, traditional Chilean universities,
EdTech providers and foreign online universities have been
discussed. Despite the rather positive attitudes towards
hiring online degree graduates among the study participants,
the cultural and societal factors may still play an important
role in the employer’s decision-making process and make
them prefer the applicants holding degrees issued by highly
ranked Chilean institutions which are associated with good
quality and high social position of the graduates and which
offer potential for expanding valuable networks.
The main limitations for this study consist of the relatively
small number of observations that could be gathered due to
the time and geographical distance. Most of the data had to
be gathered online. Moreover, both the social outburst at the
time in Chile and the COVID-19 emergency on global scale
have made it more difficult to reach the companies that
would fit the proposed research design. It would be therefore
recommendable to study a larger sample of employers for
generalizable results.
It would be interesting to take this analysis further and apply
the findings of this study to develop a value proposition for
selected higher education institutions that, considering both
internal and external factors, should be offered to maximize the
perceived value of a degree. Moreover, it would be interesting
to find out whether there is any relationship between the
type of employees’ degrees and the company’s performance.
It would be a valuable information for the hiring managers
to calibrate their perceptions and criteria to elaborate a more
results-oriented and data-driven approach to recruiting.
Unfortunately, the scope and scale of this research did not
permit to investigate these aspects of the topic.

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Zaznavanje spletnih univerzitetnih diplom s strani

delodajalcev in njihova povezanost s prakso zaposlovanja
in izbire: primer Čila

Izvleček

Pojav spletnih univerzitetnih študijskih programov je priložnost za Čile, ki se spopada z nizkimi stopnjami dosežene terciarne
izobrazbe in vrzeljo v znanju na trgu dela. Vendar je bilo doslej malo pozornosti namenjene temu ali delodajalci v Čilu
zaznavajo spletno in univerzitetno izobraževanje v živo kot enakovredno. Ta študija je z vprašanji po Likertovi lestvici in
hipotetičnim scenarijem zaposlovanja raziskala zaznave priročnega vzorca 38 delodajalcev iz različnih panog. O rezultatih
raziskave so se nato posvetovali s tremi strokovnjaki, ki so podali svoje razlage. Ugotovitve so pokazale, da raziskovan vzorec
na splošno ne zaznava spletnega in univerzitetnega izobraževanja v živo kot enakovrednih, vendar ne bi zavrnil diplomanta s
spletno diplomo samo zaradi njegovega akademskega ozadja. Vendar, ko bi izbirali med diplomantom 100-odstotno spletnega
izobraževanja in diplomantom 100-odstotnega izobraževanja v živo ter diplomantom hibridnega študija, nihče od njih ne
bi izbral diplomanta 100-odstotno spletnega študija. Namesto tega bi jih 57 % zaposlilo diplomanta hibridnega študija, 43
% pa diplomanta 100-odstotnega študija v živo. Obstaja pomembna, pozitivna korelacija med zaznano enakovrednostjo
strogosti, učnih izkušenj in učnih vsebin ter pripravljenostjo zaposliti diplomanta spletnega študija. Ugled univerze je ključni
dejavnik, ki vpliva na odločitve o zaposlovanju v Čilu. Ustreznost diplome je lahko nepomembna v primerjavi z drugimi
dejavniki, ki jih upoštevajo vodje oddelkov za zaposlovanje.

Ključne besede: visokošolsko izobraževanje, spletne univerzitetne diplome, zaposlovanje, Čile

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